First Round Results Put Seahawks in Near-Perfect Situation Entering Second Day of Draft
While the top-10 of the 2022 NFL Draft went more or less by the book as far as the Seahawks are concerned, the rest of the first round went about as well as it possibly could have for them.
It really begins and ends with the run on quarterbacks that never came. This year's class of young arms has been divisive, to say the least, with opinions constantly changing on when and where the few intriguing names will land. As stocks seemingly rose over the last few weeks, some anticipated a potential scramble for quarterbacks within the first 20 or so picks, given how limited these talents are this go around. But instead, it appears the league generally agreed with the notion that the majority of this group is not first-round caliber.
Even when the Steelers took Pittsburgh product Kenny Pickett at No. 20, there was no panic from other teams who could be in the market for a quarterback. In the end, Pickett was the only passer to come off the board Thursday night, with teams like the Lions, Saints, Titans, Buccaneers and Vikings all going in a different direction with their respective picks.
As it became clear the likes of Liberty's Malik Willis, Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder and Ole Miss' Matt Corral were going to fall, and with very few threats to take a quarterback ahead of them in the draft order, the Seahawks felt little-to-no pressure to sacrifice precious resources for a move back into the first round. Waiting it out until day two does mean they won't have the luxury of a fifth-year option on any quarterback they may take, but considering the uncertainty shrouding this class, their hesitancy to part with significant capital is understandable.
The chances that at least one of Willis, Ridder or Corral, as well as North Carolina's Sam Howell, fall to the Seahawks' back-to-back picks at No. 40 and No. 41 are more or less 100 percent at this point. But if they do have their sights set on Willis or Ridder in particular, then it's likely they'll have to make a trade of some kind in order to protect themselves from the Colts (No. 42), Falcons (No. 43), Lions (No. 46) and Saints (No. 49) leapfrogging them, as well as the Vikings (No. 34), Titans (No. 35), Giants (No. 36) and Texans (No. 37) making a fairly surprising play.
The good news is: such a deal shouldn't cost Seattle a ton to execute. Going off the Rich Hill trade value chart, No. 40 and No. 109 (181 points) should be enough to move up to the Buccaneers' spot at No. 33 (180 points), which is the first pick of the night.
Now, in the event the Seahawks are not enthralled with any of these quarterbacks enough to use one of their second-rounders on one, the board still fell in a favorable way at other positions of need for them. Defensive ends like Penn State's Arnold Ebiketie, Minnesota's Boye Mafe and Houston's Logan Hall are still available, as well as off-ball linebackers like Alabama's Christian Harris, Wyoming's Chad Muma, Wisconsin's Leo Chenal and Georgia's Nakobe Dean.
The cornerback class remains fairly intact as well, with Clemson's Andrew Booth Jr., Washington's Kyler Gordon and Auburn's Roger McCreary all hanging around. And even after taking their left tackle of the future in Mississippi State's Charles Cross at pick No. 9, the Seahawks could double-dip into the tackle market and shore up the right side of their offensive line with someone like Central Michigan's Bernhard Raimann, Washington State's Abraham Lucas or Ohio State's Nicholas Petit-Frere.
Whatever the case may be, with three picks on the night and two within the first nine selections, Seattle looks poised to make some big strides in laying the foundation of its next era on Friday.
